The time it takes to heal
by JEM0013
Summary: What happens to Naruto after the war but before he becomes Hokage (note: I have not seen the movie yet)
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

He woke up with a scream in his throat. The pain ripped through him with a pulsating throb starting where his heart was and radiating outwards.

He closed his blue eyes as sweat ran down his forehead and he tried to even his ragged breathing. Slowly sitting forward more to run his left hand over his face to wipe, as if to wipe away the nightmare.

Every day this week he'd been plagued with nightmares. Though, he thought to himself, he shouldn't complain…it had only been a week since the end of the war. But it was over, and he hated the fact that his dreams hadn't stopped with the change to peace.

He lowered his left hand from his face to look around his apartment, noting the clock read just after 2:00 am. He continued his scan of the darkness, flaring out his senses to check for intruders. Sensing none he decided he needed to get up and maybe go to the all night mart for a snack. He had ramen but he wanted a popsicle suddenly and had no reason not to go and get one.

He swung his legs over the side of his mattress and stood. He was dressed well enough for a midnight run to get food. Shorts and a T-shirt wouldn't offend anyone so he slid his feet into his sandals, grabbed his keys and walked out.

The walk to and through the mart was uneventful, the cashier, barely awake himself, didn't speak a word to him as he paid for his purchases. He strolled lazily away and to the park around the corner where he sat on one of the many empty swings. Pulling out a popsicle he again flared out his senses to check the surrounding area to check for unfriendlies…or friendlies. _He was not in the mood for a chat right now._ Sensing none he ripped the packaging off with his teeth, letting the wrapper fall to the ground for now. Taking a bite of the cold treat he sighed in relief as the coldness seemed to ease the pain that was still fluttering in his chest.

He became lost in thought while his treat started to melt. He thought of each of his friends and how they must be coping with all the changes in their lives. The grief was still fresh for all of them but so was the determination to work on reconstructions. _Time leaves nothing unaltered._

He smirked at the voice. Looking down at where his right hand should be. _I know that better than anyone…I've gone from Naruto Uzumaki, most unpredictable ninja, to Naruto Uzumaki, one handed ninja extraordinaire._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

**Flashback chapter…this whole chapter is a flashback so please don't be confused also please note that I used the manga to give me the "script" for this particular chapter…I do not own Naruto**

He woke up to staring up at the sky. The clouds were flitting calmly across the sky for how vicious and torrential the battle had previously been.

Naruto started to sense in the surrounding area as he moved his eyes to track to Sasuke. Looking to his right he saw his best friends bruised and dirty face.

"Sasu—" he started to move to check him when a wave of agony went through him, making him dizzy and sick to his stomach. His vision blurred for a moment while he laid back and stopped moving completely. Pain radiated through his whole body, nearly ripping a whimper from him. He tried to take stock of what hurt the most but he couldn't think of just one thing. _No…that's not true._ His right arm was shooting painful daggers up to his chest. _Must be broken pretty badly, Sakura's going to kill me._ He slowly looked down to take stock of how bad. _Shit! Teme we've really done it now. Sakura is SO going to kill us._

Naruto focused on slowing his breathing. He knew he couldn't risk moving, not if he wanted to keep from bleeding out. He looked again at Sasuke. _He won't be moving yet but I'll have to stay awake to warn him when he wakes up._

Time passed. He felt himself getting tired but couldn't allow himself to drift off. He used this time to try and reach Kurama, but as of current, he couldn't reach him. The sky darkened and the moon came into full view before he heard his friend start to stir.

"ugh…"

"Awake now, huh…"

"Ouch" Sasuke flinched and looked down.

When he felt Sasuke tense he knew he had to make an offhand remark. "It's just as you see it…if we move too much, we'll bleed to death."

Sasuke turned his black eye to look at his blond rival and friend. When he didn't look back at him Sasuke turned his gaze upward. "Just look at you…" he felt such guilt at being the one to injure his friend to this degree. "why do you insist on getting in my way?" He continued to rant his anger out, now looking back at Naruto. Willing him to look at him. "But, you never thought of cutting ties with me…no matter what happened…why do you care so much about me?!"

Finally, Naruto turned his head the slightest, his blue eyes latching onto his friends black one. "Don't you already know? Heh, look at you, talking so much now just cause you can't move…"

"Shut up and just answer me!" He wanted to hear the answer one last time, though he already knew what it would be.

"That's because you're my friend." Came the quiet reply. It was the answer he wanted but at the same time he wanted more. He didn't know what he was looking for he just did.

"You already said that once. What does that mean to you?" Sasuke continued to scrutinize the blond ninja. He knew he had the answer.

Naruto looked back up at the sky with a quiet breath. "If you want me to explain it, I'm not really sure how to put it." He paused a second as he tried to gather his thoughts. "It's just that, when I hear you blabbering about carrying everything on your shoulders…I can kinda feel the pain too." Sasuke felt a jolt of shock go through him as Naruto continued. "It really hurts. There's just no way I can ignore it!" Sasuke looked away in guilty thought. _He really does understand me?_ "Well…" Sasuke's eyes returned to the face of his one and only true friend as he continued speaking. "Today I'm hurting all over so there isn't much I can do."(Chapter 698 Naruto Manga)

Neither of them spoke after that and slowly, with the full moon high in the sky, they slowly drifted off to a much needed sleep.

After they had awoken and Sakura had healed them as best as she could they returned to the battle field to release the jutsu that Madara had placed on everyone. The shouts had started as confusion then had turned to concern as the ones released first saw their comrades still wrapped up in slowly unraveling bark. Soon that concern altered to joyous shouts as they realized they'd won the war. It was over.

Naruto and Sasuke stood on a hill over looking the field with their hands entwined into the release hand sign. When they sensed the jutsu completely faded they slowly separated, allowing their respective hand to fall to their sides. Naruto looked over those who were celebrating and felt a tug of pain in his chest for those who had been lost in the battle.

_Neji…I'm so sorry, I'll protect Hinata in your place._

Voice continued to rise to a chaotic volume as Naruto and Sasuke turned away for Sasuke to release the tailed beasts from the rinnegans control. Naruto took this time to see if the Ninetails was injured in any way and if we wanted to stay released. He was surprised when he returned without a single negative remark and started sending chakra to heal some of the more serious superficial injuries.

The two of them returned to the edge of the battlefield, neither wanting to step foot into the midst of ninja celebrating. Neither of them wanted any attention at the moment so they stayed together at the edge sitting at the top of the hill.

While sitting there, Sasuke continuously glanced between Naruto and the chaos of the celebration. He looked as if he wanted to leave but was waiting for Naruto to leave with him. Naruto, in the meantime, was scanning the mass of bodies looking for lavender eyes and long dark hair. He could sense her chakra, so he knew she was alive, but he wanted to _see_ that she was alright.

As they sat there, some ninja closer to them started to notice them. Shikamaru, the first to move to them noticed something wrong. He slowly made his way up the hill as he took note of their appearance. Both of them were covered in blood and dirt. Swollen bruises dotted their faces and both of them were hunched over looking almost blank.

"Yoh, Naruto." Shikamaru trudged up to them.

"Shikamaru" Naruto's smile was half assed. He looked like he wanted to smile but couldn't.

_What a drag._ He sighed. As he got closer Naruto pushed up to his feet and Shikamaru felt himself freeze in shock at seeing what the damage was. He felt his rage boil up because he knew that the two would have fought. He couldn't believe the traitor had done this kind of damage and Naruto was up here sitting with him. He shot a look at Sasuke as he stood and felt another jolt of shock at seeing him in the same condition as Naruto. _Wha-? _

"It's no big deal."

Naruto's quiet reply had Shikamaru's gaze swinging back to latch onto blue eyes that stared at him in quiet understanding. He cleared his throat, "What happened to you two?"

"We'll fill everyone in later…though I'd like to wait and let everyone rest up a bit."

Shikamaru continued to stare at Naruto until he sighed and nodded. As he passed he whispered "Tonight" to the shadow ninja before continuing down the hill. He'd just caught sight of Sakura leading Grandma Tsunade and wanted to quietly head them off before they caused a commotion by yelling at him and Sasuke.

Later that night, surrounded by the konohona 11, Naruto and Sasuke told the other what happened. As reactions set it and questions started to fly one ninja used her byakugan to check on the chakra network of her two fellow ninja. For the most part their network seemed undamaged and relatively healthy. But when it entered in their injured arms it stopped suddenly. The chakra network was intact right up into the amputation sight. Though neither of them had a full set of hands anymore, she didn't see a reason they both couldn't continue being ninja. As she released her eye jutsu she noticed Shikamaru looking at her expectantly. Not wanting to draw attention to herself she just smiled reassuringly at him. With that he seemed to relax and turned back to the group questioning the two in their beds.

But, another ninja had noticed the altercation. He tensed in his bed as more questions hurtled at them relentlessly. He wanted to ask but didn't want to draw attention to the Hyuga girl. He'd wait…as patiently as he could.

Slowly, as the night wore on, the young ninja all started yawning and drifting away to go home to sleep in their own beds after being away for so long. He sent a signal to both Shikamaru and Hinata for them to linger. While they sighed or blushed the rest started to head out. When it was just the four of them, the two injured ninja along with the shadow controller and Hyuga girl silence reigned for a moment.

"So." Naruto's voice was even and low though he was tense. "What's the verdict?"

Shikamaru, not bothering to be clueless, turned to Hinata. "What'd you see with you byakugan?"

Sasuke's eyes sharpened as he watched the girl.

"W-well…"She blushed. She hadn't known that she had been caught looking and wasn't sure how much she should tell them. She looked into Naruto's deep blue eyes. No, he was always honest with her…there was no way she wouldn't be with him. "K-keep in mind that I'm not a medical ninja…b-but from what I saw neither of you chakra networks are overly damaged."

Shikamaru looked at her with confusion. "The lack of the arm hasn't damaged their network?"

"It's s-severed it…rather cleanly too, but it hasn't damaged it any further. S-since it's undamaged, I d-don't see why they can't continue being ninja." Hinata glanced down knowing that Naruto's main jutsu's needed two hands to complete the seals. "Y-you'd just need to train to m-manipulate the chakra you need with just one hand."

"Hinata." At Naruto's quiet voice she looked up quickly. Shock brought a heavier blush to her cheeks. "Thankyou" His eyes looked at her softly with concern and caring.

While Hinata was lost in thought over Naruto's attentions Shikamaru and Naruto sent slight nods at each other. They were going to keep this quiet for now…and subtly pump the Hokage for information on how to adjust to the new situation.

**I took a lot of this chapter from the manga…I won't be doing it again but I wanted to be as accurate as possible…Hope you enjoy**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Naruto watched the sun rise from where he sat on the swing. They'd been released the next day from the hospital and the day after that the funerals had started. Then it had just been day after day of grieving and comforting and nightmares.

Not that he was complaining since he along with everyone else grieved and comforted at each funeral they attended. The hardest part though, was seeing the wives of the Nara and Yamanaka clans. They had held strong on the outside, but if you looked close enough you could see they were shattered that the love of their life's were gone. Their children stood next to them with the Akimichi clan being the support that was sorely needed.

And when it came time for Neji's funeral, he stood beside Hinata quietly holding her hand and silently trying to be the support that she needed. Now that he thought back to that time he realized that she had been comforting him as well. Somehow, along their journey, she had come to be the one that could comfort him.

Since Pain had attacked her, he knew that she meant something to him. For her to be injured to break his mind and spirit so easily had to mean she was important. But it wasn't until she had snapped him out of his stupor during the war that he realized just _how_ important. Both he and Kurama had felt that change, that…love…begin to grow.

Naruto pushed his feet against the ground to move the swing into action. Everything was moving fast, but so slowly at the same time. He couldn't seem to keep up with all the changes that were in the works but the days were the grief overwhelmed them dragged like weeks.

Naruto pushed again with his feet. The squeak of the swings chains splitting the silence of the playground. He looked around again. He felt a change in the air pressure and threw out his senses. That's when he felt it. He had let himself get complacent sitting in the quiet morning that he hadn't noticed he was no longer alone.

Slowly, Naruto turned to look over his shoulder. The lowest branch of the tree behind him held a familiar face. A calm black eye looked down at him and waited patiently for some kind of acknowledgment. His hands held the ever present book but his eye was not on the text. The wind swayed his gray hair softly as he held his perched position. Naruto looked away just as slowly from his sensei. Breathing out a deep sigh he stood from the swing and collected his trash. Not saying anything, he walked away.

He knew he would follow. Naruto knew that Kakashi-sensei was signaling him that they needed to talk but it was needed to be in the privacy of an enclosed room. He nodded slightly as he threw his trash in the garbage can, signaling he understood, before using his newly developed chakra step to disappear. He infused chakra into the soles of his feet to give him a boosted speed as he made his way back to his apartment.

As Naruto approached his apartment he took note that Kakashi-sensei's chakra had disappeared from behind him. _Must've been a shadow clone. I must be slipping up if I hadn't noticed that._ But then again, his mind had been elsewhere.

He stepped into the silent apartment knowing Kakashi wouldn't be there yet, he _was_ always late. He took the time to wash up. The sweat from the nightmare the previous night as well as the light sweat from the run back and made him start to feel itchy, so he walked back to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

When he made his way back to the kitchen, he could tell it wasn't just Kakashi-sensei. Iruka-sensei was the only one that would have either brought or made breakfast for them. The sent of grilled eggs and cooked rice permeated the air and made Naruto's stomach growl loudly. When he stepped through the doorway he had his usual grin on his face.

"All right!" Naruto slipped into his chair and picked up the pair of chopsticks "Iruka-sensei you're the best!"

"Haha! Well I know how much you can eat!" Iruka watched him fondly as he broke the chopsticks apart with his hand and teeth. _I should've thought to snap them apart for him_. "Kakashi told me we had to have a quiet meeting early this morning so I thought I'd bring some grub!"

"ITADAKIMASU!" Naruto slowly dug into his food, still not use to using his left hand to eat.

Kakashi, who had been sitting at the table watching the interaction finally put his book down. "Naruto."

"Hm?"

"Hinata and Shikamaru were in to speak with Lady Hokage last night." Kakashi watched Naruto hesitate for a moment before continuing with his eating.

"Hmmm"

Iruka had noticed the slight hesitation and looked towards Kakashi wondering what this was about while, Kakashi took the slight hesitation to mean that Naruto knew exactly what had been said. _Good! This will speed things along._

"Lady Hokage has decided to research the possibility of using Hashirama's cells to create a prosthetic arm for the two of you." Again Naruto 'hmm-ed' before continuing eating. Iruka was now completely focused on Kakashi. "She wants you to come in this afternoon for a check up and compatibility test."

"That's fantastic!" Iruka turned to Naruto. "You'll get full function of both arms again and be able to continue being a ninja!"

"Mhmm" Both of his teachers now worried as again Naruto didn't speak or look up from his bowl.

"Naruto?" Iruka said quietly into the silence. "Look at me."

At the command Naruto sighed quietly before looking up into his sensei's brown eyes. His brow had crinkled as he looked at Naruto in concern.

"You don't seem excited…why?"

Naruto sighed again as he tried to figure out how to word his thoughts. He leaned back in his chair and pushed his unfinished plate away slightly. "There's no guarantee it'll work." He stated quietly. "I just don't want to get my hopes up."

Kakashi and Iruka were both shocked. Naruto was known for jumping to conclusions and usually the optimistic ones at that. The fact that he was holding judgment and going further and being quietly pessimistic shocked and worried them both.

Iruka tried to shove any doubts and concerns away. They needed to be positive. "This will work Naruto…I have faith."

Naruto looked at his to sensei's then down to where his right arm ended. "Hinata was able to tell that the network was severed." At Iruka's slight inhale he looked back up. "_She_ was able to see how a prosthetic would be able to connect to my current chakra network. However,-" He paused to collect himself for this next part. It didn't sit well with him that he was doubting Grandma Tsunade's ability. "…she has no medical training. And neither Grandma Tsunade nor Sakura, who are the best at healing, can see the chakra network to connect them during the surgery." His eyes fell back to his arm. "You'll remember, Kakashi-sensei, that Grandma Tsunade once said she couldn't heal a destroyed chakra network. So why do either of you think that I'll be able to use it to mold chakra?"

Kakashi didn't reply as he just watched his student silently. He knew Naruto wasn't as dense, in most of the situations, as they thought he was. He kept his whole focus on his student as he heard Iruka mumble the boys name quietly. He knew he'd go through with the surgery. Of that he had no doubt. He knew the boy wanted to have a full functioning arm again…but the fact that he had reasoned out several problems and was now actively thinking about them concerned him.

"Well, the choice, either way, is yours." Kakashi looked at the clouded blue eyes of his sensei's child. _I'll keep him safe Minato-sensei_. But when you go into surgery both Iruka and myself will be in there with you."

At this both Naruto's eyes and Iruka's latched onto his in shock. "Wha~?" came the duel reply.

His eye crinkled at the corner when he smiled at that under his mask. "Lady Tsunade wants someone who knows how your chakra control works and can help adjust it, as needed, present. So, over the next few months we'll be working with Shizune to prepare you for the surgery."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, then he sighed and closed his eyes in defeat. "You want to come with me don't you?"

Kakashi smiled. He knew Naruto had been sneaking out of the village every chance he could. And, according to the Hyuga girl in last nights meeting, he'd been coming back nearly chakra exhausted every time. "I know you're training with something…and what better way for Iruka and I to become reacquainted with your style than to observe you training."

Naruto looked at him hard before smirking. "Well then…I guess the best way for that is for you to follow me when I go next time. Of course I never know when I'll decide when's the next best time for me to go so you'll just have to be prepared to leave at a moments notice."

"Wait…" Iruka looked confused as he looked at Naruto. "you don't know when you'll be training again?"

"I've been leaving it all up to how I feel at the time and whether or not I have something I'm suppose to be doing." He replied with a shrug. "Some days I want to go but I just don't feel up to it."

"Hmmm" _Well, he still is recovering…I'll summon Paku and have him watch Naruto for awhile._

Over the next few weeks more changes began to occur. Teams were adjusted and being sent out on missions, medical training started for those who would be working on the prosthetic, new clan heads were announced and celebrated…and Lady Tsunade announced she was stepping down as Hokage.

**Very soon I'll have Hinata as a more prominent character…Hope you're enjoying**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Naruto sat with some of his friends eating at Ichiraku when he started getting that panicky feeling again. Lately, he'd have random attacks of stomach twisting itchiness that made him just want to run as far away from the village as he could. This had been his signal to go out and burn off some energy (aka train) but it had started to come more frequent as his healing had progressed.

Now, with the urge to run somewhere twisting his insides he found himself trying to find a way to leave Kiba and Choji without seeming like he was running for the hills.

"I just can't believe they chose Kakashi-sensei to be the next Hokage…" Kiba's loud voice broke him out of his stupor. He ranted that there were ninja that were better at being on time than the soon-to-be Hokage.

"Naruto, aren't you going to defend your sensei?" Choji asked confusedly while he finished off his next bowl of ramen.

"It's true that he's always late…" Came Naruto's quiet reply and Kiba smirked in victory. "But, you're wrong Kiba." Kiba choked on his ramen that he had just taken a sip of and Choji burst out laughing. "Kakashi-sensei is one of the best when it comes to thinking strategically and politically. And though he's lazy…" It was Choji's turn to choke in surprise of Naruto's slight bashing of his sensei, "he'll work tirelessly to make sure the will of fire is protected."

"Hmph! I don't know Naruto…I mean I still think they should've had you take over. I mean, you _are_ the hero of the village."

"Hero?"

"Yeah! You're unbeatable!"

Naruto took a moment to look at Kiba before he started to rise "I'm not a hero…I'd be dead if it wasn't for my friends." Kiba looked away guiltily as he thought of Neji. "And the village doesn't need 'unbeatable' it needs 'stability'. Kakashi-sensei can give that right now…and in a few years…so will I."

"You heading out Naruto?"

"Yeah." Naruto placed the money for his ramen on the counter. "Sorry Choji. I'm working on something and need to get to it. We'll finish catching up later." Naruto waved as he walked away.

A little farther away, Paku spoke into his headset.

"_I know you're busy being trained as the village leader but, you wanted to know when Naruto was acting strange. Well, I've got him acting strange."_

"_Thanks Paku. Track him for now and relate the directions to me as soon as you can. I'll be there this time."_

"_Here's hoping I can keep him in my sights this time…his shadow clones threw me for loop last time."_

Kakashi waited for Paku to send him directions. He'd just relayed to Lady Tsunade what was happening. She was concerned about Naruto and dismissed Kakashi from what they'd deemed "Hokage Training" so he could follow.

When the quiet directions came Kakashi sped out after Naruto. This time, they were going to see what was wrong.

Kakashi came to the clearing to watch Naruto and several clones (they still weren't sure on how he was summoning those) working on several different things.

One group of clones seemed to be working on taijutsu. Another seemed to be working on forming rasengan with just one hand. And the last seemed to be working on something new…that seemed almost like a barrier.

Paku came up beside Kakashi. "Which one is the real one?" came the almost silent whisper.

Paku looked up at his master before looking back at the real Naruto. The only reason he knew was because he'd watched him summon the clones. "He's the one sitting on the log with the rasengan group."

Kakashi looked over at him. While most of the Naruto's were slightly pale and sweaty from their efforts, this Naruto was ghostly pale. Though his body seemed just as tense as all his clones around him it was his eyes that troubled the teacher. They were jittery, as if he was 10 years old and being questioned by the ANBU again.

He continued to watch in silence, making sure to mask both his and Paku's presence. As the Naruto's continued to train he noticed every so often the real one would hunch over slightly and rub his stub of a right arm as if in pain before continuing where he left off. _I wonder what's wrong with his arm that he keeps rubbing it…is that why he keeps skipping out on his check ups?_

After several hours the shadow clones started to disappear. Once it was just Naruto left Kakashi thought he'd have to start his run after the boy. But, once again, he was surprised. The blond ninja just sat there staring off into space, his left hand once again returning to where his right had been cut off. His blue eyes clouded for a moment before clearing and Naruto standing up and slowly heading back to the village.

They made it back just as the sun was starting to set behind the trees, casting the village in an orange glow. He walked past the gate guards with a smile and wave before continuing towards his apartment. Once Kakashi was sure he was safely inside he went to find Lady Tsunade to report his findings.

Tsunade was not happy. She was a medical ninja at heart and when the boy who she thought of as a son did not take proper care of himself, she became irate. She set off after the last of her paper work was done to head to his apartment. She could've sent for him to report to the tower but she wanted to speak with him in the privacy of his home. There were to many people at Hokage tower getting ready for the transfer of power…No, she wanted absolute privacy.

When she arrived she didn't bother knocking. Instead she sent her chakra into the lock and manipulated it until it sprang free and opened quietly. She stepped inside.

As she quietly looked around she noticed the utter silence. Either he was dead or he wasn't home. "Dammit!" She walked into his room to see the covers strewn across the bed and the pillow thrown across the room. She went to his open window, and, knowing her boy as she did, stepped out to make her way to the park.

She rounded the corner and saw Naruto sprawled out on the slide. His legs on the higher incline while his head hung off the edge. His eyes were closed but with how taught his muscles were, she knew it wasn't from sleep.

Tsunade walked quietly up to sit on the swing closest to the slide. Not saying a word until the blond haired boy sighed quietly. "You need something Grandma Tsunade?"

"Nope."

Naruto looked over at her then. She could see the nightmare still in his eyes, making him look haunted and a little frazzled.

"If you're looking for a stiff drink and a gamble, you're in the wrong playground."

She smirked. "You're starting to sound like Jiraya."

Naruto looked away at that. When she thought he wouldn't say another thing about it he surprised her. "Why did you ask Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei to help monitor my chakra during the surgery."

Tsunade looked at him without answering. She wanted him to explain the reason behind the question.

Naruto saw her look pointedly in his direction. He sighed, "Iruka-sensei hasn't been a part of my training in a very long time. Him being able to help my body adjust will be to difficult for him in such a short amount of time. And Kakashi-sensei…though he was the leader of our team…he was always more concerned with helping Sasuke when it came to training. Or helping me train only when Pervy Sage asked him to…"

Tsunade closed her eyes. He was more observant that she gave him credit for…and more pessimistic about his own personal worth than she ever thought he could be.

"They are the two people in this village that understand you best." As Naruto's eyes met hers she felt her heart tug. "They are the two that has changed the most because of you." Tsunade stood and walked over to crouch in-front of Naruto. "They are the two that I trust most not to let anything happen to you."

As Naruto absorbed her words he slowly got up off the slide. He turned to look into her brown eyes. She was the closest thing he had to a mother. He could trust her with what he was about to say…

"I'm having night terrors." Tsunade's eyes softened in sympathy as he continued to tell her what they were mostly about. When he finished she reached out a hand to run it comfortingly through his hair. She brought him closer so he could bury his face against her shoulder. Wiping the tears he hadn't known was falling she murmured quietly that he would be okay and that it was a natural reaction, calming his racing mind for the first time, in what seemed to be weeks.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

He watched the sunlight filter through the office window and light up the dust motes dancing on the air. He knew he'd be waiting awhile yet, Kakashi-sensei was always late and Grandma Tsunade was in the hospital meeting with some of the doctors. So Naruto was left to wait in the hokage tower alone with his own thoughts.

Since speaking with Grandma Tsunade the other night his night terrors hadn't diminished in frequency but they weren't as bad as they had been. She had waited a couple days for his sleeping to stabilize a little before calling them in for this compatibility test.

Naruto let his mind wander. The village seemed to becoming a happier place…they didn't forget but now instead of tears in everyone's eyes there was nostalgia. The several times he'd seen his friends they also seemed to making be progress in moving forward away from the grief.

He felt bad for several things, though he didn't want to voice them to anyone. The first was obvious, the loss of Neji…of everyone that had lost their lives. Second was to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives…Ino and Shikamaru's faces flashed in his mind briefly. And lastly, was because he had saved his teammate while so many other teams had lost members to either death or severe injury. It was this that was fueling the majority of his night terrors and probably because even though he was accepted again, Sasuke had left yesterday.

His blue eyes tracked to the door as he heard footsteps approaching. The clack of heels along with a slight shuffling tap indicated the Hokages were on their way. Naruto turned back to the desk and stood at attention when Grandma Tsunade and Kakashi-sensei entered.

They both looked at him, but neither said a thing about him being their already. Instead, Tsunade sat on the front of the desk and Kakashi stepped up on Naruto's right side. When several minutes had passed and no one had said anything Naruto shifted away to walk to the edge of the room to lean against the wall. It was several more minutes before another set of footsteps could be heard approaching the office; Kakashi again moved to stand next to Naruto. The door quietly clicked open, Shizune, Iruka and Shikamaru entered.

A sigh escaped Naruto. He looked to Kakashi-sensei, "This is going to be bad, isn't it?"

Kakashi looked at his blond student, his blue eyes were tired and scared. "We'll help you through it." He responded quietly. Kakashi saw Shizune motion him over and gently placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder before pushing off the wall.

After a few more minutes of Shizune discussing something with his two teachers Tsunade pushed off her desk with a smile. "All right! Let's get going."

They went to a private room at the top of the tower, it was set up with medical equipment and had a bed in the center…as well as Hinata and two Hyuga clan members all standing off to the side.

"Naruto, go ahead and sit on the bed. Iruka, Kakashi step to either side of him." Tsunade ordered. Shikamaru went to stand by the Hyuga's by the window and the others followed the command.

Once everyone was in place Tsunade moved to stand in-front of Naruto. She placed her hand right above where his right arm ended. "Naruto, I need you to mold chakra. Something simple." She looked into his blue eyes. She knew he was upset since Sasuke had left already but they had decided they would do this today. And as much as she wanted to give him time to come to terms with his best friend leaving again she wanted to get this tried out today to make any necessary adjustments needed. She wanted to get Naruto set up as soon as possible so he could continue with his normal life.

The three Hyuga's activated their Byakugan and watched. He started molding chakra. A thin film of it coated him as he used his chakra to extend his senses. When Tsunade signaled, both Kakashi and Iruka placed a hand on one of Naruto's shoulders to be able to sense the boys chakra manipulation.

A few minutes in to the test and Hinata let out a little gasp. Tsunade felt Naruto flinch and tense up while Kakashi and Iruka felt his breath hitch and his chakra falter. Pain shot through his chest and head and Naruto let out a small whimper under his breath.

"Tsunade-sama!" One of the Hyuga shouted out. "You need to stop for a moment."

Tsunade looked at the young Hyuga male. He was one of her best medical ninja and she heeded his advice. "Naruto" she whispered. His blue eyes looked up to hers. Pain glazed his eyes.

"Tsunade-sama" Ryojin came towards her, his byakugan still activated. "His chakra flowing into his arm is trying to find an outlet. It's backing up and back-lashing on his own body."

"What does that mean?" Kakashi looked to Naruto at Iruka's quiet question. _So, that's why he was in so much pain when I saw him training._

"It means that the chakra that should be circulating down to his right hand is attacking him since it has no where to go." Tsunade looked at the three Hyuga ninja. "This means it's all the more important that we connect the chakra network properly." She knelt down to look up into Naruto's eyes. "Why didn't you tell me it was paining you?"

Naruto shook his head slightly. "I've had worse." Came the quiet whisper.

Tsunade sighed and rose to make preparations on the prosthetic arm. "Ryoujin, come help me set this up."

Hinata took a step towards Naruto and Hyuga Mikasa took a step towards Iruka and Kakashi to speak to them of what was seen and felt. Naruto closed his eyes and leaned over when Hinata sat down next to him. Laying his head on her shoulder seemed to steady him slightly but she froze and blushed brighter that an apple.

Hinata felt like she was going to pass out from happiness but she knew she had to be strong. Naruto was hurting and she had to support him. _Any way I can…_She reached up to tentatively run her fingers in his hair. She tried to comfort him in his pain as best as she could but the agony of one's own chakra attacking the ninja was beyond comprehension.

The quiet sounds of whispers slowly penetrated Naruto's haze. He opened his eyes waiting for the agony to stab through his head but while it ached it didn't rob him of his lucidity. He felt fingers scrape through his hair gently. He knew he had to wake up completely. He heard Grandma Tsunade's voice talking to the others. Slowly he turned his head.

"N-Naruto-kun" came Hinata's whispered reply

He met Tsunade's eyes. "You awake now?" He nodded, his head still on Hinata's shoulder. Tsunade's eyes softened, "we're going to start the surgery now…it has to be performed when you're awake so we had to wait." Naruto nodded again. "Hinata, lay him down and move to his head. Iruka, Kakashi, each of you on one side next to Hinata. Ryojin, Mikasa at his waist. Shikamaru at the foot of the bed and prepare your jutsu." Everyone moved into position and Tsunade moved to right behind Hinata who had sat down. "Naruto I need you to mold chakra just like before when Hinata tells you…do you understand?" At his slow nod she felt a tug of worry, he was too quiet. "Hinata" she whispered into the Hyuga girl's ear. "Watch him carefully."

"Yes ma'am"

Tsunade nodded at Shikamaru before giving the two Hyuga medic nins their signal. Shikamaru did a shadow strangle jutsu to surround parts of Naruto to hold him down to the bed. He was worried…of course he wouldn't let on but with how much pain he seemed to be in he didn't think Naruto would be able to focus on the control needed.

Mikasa would be connecting the prosthetic arm, made out of wood, to Naruto's arm while Ryojin would be attempting what had never been attempted…connecting Naruto's chakra network into the false network they "created" to mimic Naruto's left arm.

Pain flashed through his body. He gasped but focused his eyes on Hinata's lavender ones. He saw her concern flash but he couldn't stop molding chakra until she told him to. Naruto knew it was important to follow their instructions to the letter, so he focused on just the sight of her eyes to help him stay grounded. Then a particularly sharp throb robbed him of his breath and seized all his muscles. His back arched slightly in the effort to get away from the agony shooting through his body but he stayed looking at her eyes…he kept his chakra coating his body.

A choked scream started in his throat when he felt the shadows bare down on him, then just as suddenly the pain eased. He felt cool hands wiping his forehead and firm hands on his shoulders exerting chakra. _I guess I did slack off on the chakra…_He felt his chakra being manipulated by anothers. It felt cool against his and familiar. It reached into his body and soothed the pain radiating through his arm and chest. He forced his control to follow the guide of the other chakra.

He felt the pressure starting to ease a little. Like he'd burst a small leak was being released. As time slowly went by he felt more and more of the pressure that had built up release. Soon enough the pain had eased and his eyes were able to focus again on the lavender eyes of the girl that had saved him.

"Okay Nartuo, ease back your chakra." Naruto did as Hinata instructed. He felt the pressure rise again and a whimper escaped him. "Shh…shh it's okay."

Those cool fingers brushed his hair off his forehead again and slowly, oh so slowly, the pressure eased again. He thought it was over. Everyone seemed to be breathing easier.

"Shikamaru, be ready"

No sooner did Naruto hear that that a wave of agony, not unlike when he first lost his arm, shot through his entire body. A scream ripped from his throat as his body seized much worse than before. _It feels like something is ripping apart the stump with burning hot knives! _

Naruto felt his breath hitch before his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

"Well…that went better than I thought." Tsunade watched everyone wipe sweat or tears off their faces. She walked over to take the place of Ryojin to get a good look at his arm. She softly wiped the blood from the connection site. Hashirama's cells from the prosthetic arm had sprouted once the chakra network was connected and latched into Naruto's arm.

She sighed softly and started to wrap the connection site in bandages. Kakashi looked over her shoulder. "This will always be a weak point on him." He looked down when Lady Tsunade spoke quietly. "And it'll always be sensitive to him. But at the very least he'll be able to learn to have full functionality of his arm."

"But…he will have his arm!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

A dull throb echoed lightly throughout his whole body as he felt himself floating to the surface of his subconscious. Light leaked through his closed eyes to wake him up.

He heard soft breathing to his left. Slowly, Naruto lifted his heavy lids. He looked down to see Kakashi sleeping in a chair next to his hospital bed, his book closed in his lap. Naruto sat up slowly as to not wake up his sensei. The throb in his arm was light but consistent. He examined it. The bandage wrap went from his fingertips to half way up his biceps. When he ran his fingers over it, it was extremely tender and started to throb lightly in time with his heartbeat. Slowly, he focused on moving one finger at a time of the fake hand. His thumb and pointer was easy to move but for some reason the rest felt stiff as if he was suffering frostbite.

_Well, I had figured I'd be relearning things with this hand._ It only made sense that if he had to learn the first time he'd have to learn again with a new hand. He tightened his hand into a loose fist.

"Naruto" the boy turned his eyes to his sensei. "Don't strain your hand."

"I won't" came the hoarse reply.

Kakashi sighed and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Naruto, still looking at his new right hand, continued to slowly flex both hands to feel the differences.

"Does it hurt?"

Naruto didn't answer for a minute, then he looked up into his sensei's eye. "Aches a little, like if I trained too hard." his blue eyes turned back to his hands. "Feels funny…"

"Feels funny how?"

"Ummm. Like it's asleep? And I can't really feel it yet, even though I know it's there."

Kakashi filed that away to ask Tsunade later. Now, he just did what he could to alleviate his students nerves. "You'll be using it to eat ramen soon enough. Then you won't be noticing a 'funny' feeling."

Naruto smirked then eyed his sensei. "I'm hungry." He put a slight 'I'm still recovering, can you get me food' look on his face. Hoping against all hope he'd get the afore-mentioned ramen instead of a piece of fruit.

"Well, we can't have that can we?" Kakashi stood up and moved to the table in the corner.

_Well, I jinxed it._ Naruto thought as Kakashi handed him a bright red apple.

The next day Naruto sat with Tsunade and Hinata in his home. They'd decided they were going to do the physical therapy at his apartment instead of the hospital where several doctors kept interrupting his sleep to get a look at the prosthetic or hokage tower where training for the new hokage was progressing slowly since he kept disappearing.

With Hinata's byakugan activated she watched his chakra network to see if there were any side-effects or problems with the connection, as Tsunade interrogated him on how he was feeling and if anything felt wrong.

This went on for several minutes before Naruto, who was exhausted, started to doze off. He started to float off into a dream and, though he was aware Tsunade would kill him if he slept, had no desire to resist the pull of sleep.

Hinata looked at Lady Tsunade in trepidation when Naruto snored suddenly but the blond ex-hokage just smiled affectionately as she reached across the table to run her hand lightly up Narutos right arm.

He flinched and whimpered slightly in his sleep but Tsunade didn't stop. Instead she sent chakra to her hands as she continued to poke and prod at his arm, sending healing energy to ease the ache.

Hinata watched as the medic ninja tended to her injured crush. They were supposed to be helping him relearn control with the prosthetic but he needed sleep after the nightmares and then the operation.

After the surgery Lady Tsunade had called her into the hokage office, where Kakashi-sensei was hiding at the time, to discuss Narutos recovery. She told them both that Naruto was having nightmares and the lack of sleep from these were lowering his resistance. They needed to make sure he got some sleep to build that back up.

In addition to that, they needed a Hyuga assigned to him during physical therapy to watch his chakra. They needed to know if the prosthetic would reject Narutos chakra.

Then Kakashi filled them in on what and why Narutos training schedule was like. This coupled with the nightmares had Tsunade deciding (with the two others agreeing) that they needed a Hyuga to stay in range of Naruto…constantly. And who better than the girl whose heart he held.

Hinata looked up as Lady Tsunade stood. "He seems to be doing well." The hokages brown eyes stayed focused on Naruto. "There's no infection, and the prosthetic is growing nicely into his arm."

Hinata just nodded before looking back at her blond crush, deactivating her eyes. "Should I try and curb his training?"

Tsunade didn't speak at all for a moment while still looking down at the blond sleeping at his table. "Probably," She rolled her head to relieve some tension and let out a slow sigh. "We don't want him straining. He needs to slowly build himself back up." A small smirk graced her lips. "Not that he knows the meaning of slow."

Hinata smiled and moved to sit next to Naruto. As Tsunade stood watching for another moment, Hinata reached over and brushed his hair off his forehead. She turned and headed for the door when Hinata looked up and blushed profusely.

The blond medic-nin left and Hinata continued stroking Naruto's hair as he dreamed on. They were all a little worried about Naruto's hand feeling funny but they were more concerned about making sure he got enough sleep. As of now, he was weakening from lack of sleep.

Hinata stood and started for the kitchen. She had brought food over and had planned on making him dinner with some of her family's herbs to help him sleep dreamlessly.

As she prepared his dinner she would peek in on him. When he stirred restlessly some time later she walked over and slowly nudged him awake. "Naruto." She whispered, not wanting to jolt him out of his nightmare. She wanted to ease him awake so as to not disorient him.

Hinata activated her byakugan and noted that his chakra was still calm even if he wasn't. She softly placed her hand on his shoulder and called his name again. She had just bent down to look at his face when his whole body twitched and his cerulean eyes shot open.

His breath hitched as he looked into lavender eyes. "Hinata?"

"Yes Naruto."

He didn't speak for a moment as he raised his head off the table. Hinata reached up and brushed his hair off his forehead. He froze for a minute before relaxing and sinking his forehead into her palm, her cool hand feeling good against his fevered brow.

They stayed there like that for a moment. Hinata reached up with her other hand and slowly started to knead Naruto's neck. He relaxed more and Hinata smiled in reaction.

"Naruto?" Hinata's quiet voice barely cutting into the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Do you want some dinner?"

Finally, after weeks of him being solemn, he smiled. Truly smiled. "Yeah, that sounds great!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

It was indeed a time of change in the Village hidden in the Leaves. Kakashi officially took over as Hokage. Shizune set up a medical training. Naruto's natural happiness and energized seemed to turn the villagers own emotions around.

Hinata looked out the window at Naruto showing a couple of the young children who'd followed them to the barbeque some kind of wind trick. She couldn't see clearly from her angle and he made her promise not to use her byagukan.'It'll ruin the surprise for later,' apparently, Hinata thought with a tiny giggle.

Over the last couple of weeks, Hinata worked with Tsunade on Naruto's physical therapy. And during that time, the two of them had grown use to each other, they now spent most of their days with each other in friendly companionship. But for some reason, when she followed Naruto for training, he made her promise not to use her byakugan. It worried her at first, she was suppose to be watching to make sure he didn't strain anything, but after the first few times it just puzzled her. What would make him so worried about her watching his chakra flow?

Not that it was her business, but it sure made her curious.

Laughter bubbled in the street and a couple minutes later Naruto walked in and sat opposite of her. A smile adorned her face and she thought back to yesterday's meeting with the past and present Hokage.

**Flashback**

"_Are you serious?" Naruto's face was smiling, brighter than even the sun in Suna. _

"_We're perfectly serious." Tsunade looked to Kakashi who just sat there eye smiling. "The Kage's met and discussed some situations involving their ninja. It was decided that specialized tests would be provided to those who had a recommendation from their sensei's to advance to the next level."_

"_That means…Kakashi-sensei, you…recommended me?" Naruto's eyes glowed a happier blue when he looked at his white haired sensei._

"_That's right~" Kakashi stood to walk over directly in front of Naruto before continuing. "All the Kage's agree that you've proven yourself above genin level, what with being able to use Sage mode and being the hero of the war."_

"_But…" Naruto's happiness clouded over for a moment. "I don't feel right about being given this chance because people think I'm a hero."_

_Hinata looked at Naruto in sadness, "Naruto-kun, I believe you're getting this chance because of your determination and how hard you've worked." _

_Naruto's blue eyes darkened a little at Hinata's words. Then, turning to Kakashi a slight grin slid onto his face. He stretched his hands up and rested them behind his head in his normal relaxed slouch. "Hmm~ Sensei? Does this mean I can skip right ahead to Jounin?"_

_Kakashi looked at Naruto. He knew he was joking, but oddly enough, there were three kages who wanted just that. Gara the Kazekage, Terumi the Mizukage and Onoki the Tsuchikage had all voted for Naruto to be available to take the Jounin exam while he and A the Raikage had wanted to see what he was capable of as a Chounin. "Hmm~" He mimicked Naruto, "Given some time and you very well might."_

_Naruto froze. He stared at his sensei for a long moment before slowly dragging his eyes to Tsunade to see if she would refute what he'd just said. When she remained silent, his gaze had turned inward for a moment, giving him a slightly glazed look. He let his arms drop and turned toward the door. "Well, Kurama says you're not lying...I guess I should go ahead and start working up to some expectations, huh?"_

_Hinata stepped out with Naruto. And when he stopped several feet away from the Hokage's office she stopped as well, mildly worried. She watched a careful grin spread across his face and his eyes glinted in determination._

"_Hinata...I won't let them down!"_

**End Flashback**

After the meeting she had followed him to training grounds 7 thinking he was going to train, but he proved her wrong. He'd pulled her up to the posts and sat her down across from him. After a moment of fidgeting he popped off with a questions she never thought she'd hear from him.

'_Do you want to come with me when I speak to Kurama?'_

"Hinata, did you order?"

Naruto's voice pulled her from her musings about the day before. His eyes still held laughter and his cheeks still flushed from the pleasure of making the children laugh.

"Uh...y-yes!" Flustered, Hinata ducked her head

His eyes twinkled in merriment and he reached across the table to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. He leaned back and looked out the window, giving her space to settle her rapidly beating heart.

In the silence, Hinata took this time to observe him. The sun glinted through the window to slash across his face. He hadn't worn his headband, so his hair hung over his forehead, slightly shadowing his eyes. His skin held a healthy glow that hadn't been there in weeks previous. The thing that concerned her though, was as both hands rested on the table, only his real one was in constant motion. He tapped out some inner tune while his prosthetic remained stationary.

It was something Shikamaru had noticed as well. Naruto was not one to be able to sit idle...and previously, he could be seen fiddling with the menu, tapping out a song, or just gesturing wildly. Now though, his right hand always remained still. There was nothing wrong with it. Both Hinata and Lady Tsunade had seen to that with the physical therapy but, he chose not to move it when he didn't have to.

Hinata turned her attention to scouring his face. Though his face was healthier looking and happier, there was still an underlying tension around his mouth and eyes. It wasn't unhappiness. Hinata had studied her crush enough to know that he was genuinely happy now. Her best guess was that the war had aged him. It had forced many of them to grow up...but for Naruto, who had always managed to keep his childlike wonder, it had taken an unspeakable toll.

His blue eyes glazed over for an instant before they tracked to her. He smiled quickly, "Kurama wants to know if you're trying to dissect us."

"Wha- N-no!" Hinata felt her blush ride up her neck to take over her face as he laughed. She had to keep in mind that even though Naruto may seem like he's day dreaming, he did have Kurama who was alert all the time.

Naruto straightened as their orders were placed in front of them. "Did you hear where you have to go for your exam?" Naruto looked up at Hinata's lavender eyes as their waitress left them to their food.

"Yeah" Naruto broke his chopsticks apart, "I'll meet with the Raikage on Montsoro Island. Sai and Shikamaru will be going with me." He shrugged before digging into his barbeque, "I don't know why, since they're both Jounin already, but I think I'll enjoy the company."

Hinata nodded. She knew Shikamaru was going. He'd come and asked her if there was anything he should watch for in Naruto's behavior. But she didn't know Sai was also assigned to go. Though it would make sense to test Naruto against a master sealer.

"Do you know what kind of strategy you're going to use in the practicum portion of the exam?"

Again, Naruto shrugged. "I'll know more when I get there." His eyes traveled to his food before settling on his water. "I know I'll be asked not to use sage mode or Kurama's chakra, but other than that...it's going to solely depend on who's in charge of the exam." Hinata nodded again. They continued their quiet back and forth as they ate, letting the noise of the restaurant lull them into their private conversation.

It was some time later that Naruto was escorting Hinata home. The sun was setting and he wanted to surprise her with a thank-you present for all the time she'd been spending helping him when he knew she was being trained to become the next clan head. He'd been working on this jutsu for the last couple of days...it was a frivolous one but Naruto found that as useless as it was in battle, it sure was a good way to train chakra control.

Now as they passed the public gardens he sent his chakra out in tendrils. He slowed down to a stop, pulling the wind towards them. Hinata turned in confusion and Naruto held his hand out for her.

"Hinata" She blushed but turned fully to take Naruto's outstretched hand, "I wanted to say thank-you for everything you've done for me...and I want you to know, that I'll make you proud."

"Naruto-kun...I'm already so proud of you." Hinata's voice trembled with the force of her feelings. "And there's no need to thank me." Love filled her eyes, "I'd do anything for you."

Naruto nodded and drew her a little closer, "I still want to say thanks. Hinata look up."

Hinata looked up and gasped. Above them was hundreds of flower petals, all swirling and dancing on the wind in the setting sun. Some of them sparkled from the water from the nearby fountain, and others glinted in the remaining sunlight, their waxiness making them shine. All different colors, they twirled around each other, creating a dancing rainbow that hovered above their heads. Several of the purple and blue petals swirled low to circle around Hinata before flowing back up and away.

Hinata looked into Naruto's eyes as she continued to stand there soaking up what she'd just seen. Her hand still held loosely, she turned more fully towards her blond crush. "That's what you didn't want me to see before?" At Naruto's nod and mumbled confession that it was meant to be a surprise, Hinata blushed harder.

"Thank-you Naruto." Hinata took a step closer and wrapped her arms around him in the first hug that she had ever initiated with him.

***Author's note: I'm going to apologize for how short this chapter is...it was meant to be a transition but in my head it was much longer...I guess this was one of those instances that as I wrote I forgot what I wanted to write and unfortunately neither Naruto nor Hinata was willing to wait for me...**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

Naruto looked around the small boat that was transporting him and his friends to the island where he would be taking his test. He sat on the railing watching the ninja crew work the sails and lines for a moment before searching out each of the Konohona ninja that had boarded the ship.

Surprisingly, it wasn't just Shikamaru and Sai that had joined him. Shizune and Kakashi-sensei had also joined them. Apparently, all the Kage's were to be present for this test. Kakashi-sensei said this was the only time it was happening because he was the only genin that was present at the battle. All the other ninja that had participated in the war had either been chunin or jounin.

Shikamaru was napping towards the back, well out of the way of people walking about the decks. He sprawled on the floor in the corner of the railing, his arms behind his head and his ankles crossed as the sun beat down over him.

Sai sat up at the front, switching between sketching some of the gulls that flew overhead to sketching some of the crew. He was sitting on the deck, hunched over his sketch pad, as his hand moved in quick strokes.

Naruto looked up to the wheel room. He knew both Kakashi-sensei and Shizune were in there but didn't know what they were doing. The door was open, so if he felt like being nosey he could have gotten up to peek, but it took too much energy to do so.

Instead, with his boredom at an all time high, he closed his eyes and turned his mind inward.

"**Brat, you should be nagging the shadow controller to help you strategize." **Kurama's voice echoed in the wide emptiness, opening Naruto's eyes. "**Not, bothering me with nonsense."**

Naruto smirked, "AWWWW! Come on Kurama! You're more fun to talk to."

"**Wipe that shit-eating grin off your face."** The giant nine tailed fox harrumphed before curling up as if to go to sleep.

Naruto, not one to leave the demon fox alone, climbed up on his paw before settling down. "I want to run something by you." One brown eye opened to stare down in annoyance at the blond boy who just looked down at his hands. "Granny gave me some scrolls on Hokage history, and all the previous Hokages were either involved in missions that were considered ANBU or were ANBU."

Kurama harrumphed in the back of his throat. "**You want to apply for ANBU?"**

"I think if I'm going to be the type of Hokage who is working towards peace, I need to understand what goes on behind the scenes."

Another hum as the giant fox closed his eye again. He felt his tiny human shift on his paw to angle more towards his face. "**I suppose we can work on something so you don't embarrass yourself…"**

Naruto smirked, "Thanks, Kurama."

"**Now open your eyes. One of your human friends is starting to worry."**

Naruto opened his eyes to see Shizune bent over him. Her cool hand rested on his cheek and her dark eyes looked searchingly into his blue.

"Naruto?"

"I'm fine." He rotated his head to crack his neck, "I was talking with Kurama. What's up?"

"We're approaching the island." She stood up and stepped away slightly, "You'd best get your gear together."

Gravel crunched underfoot as the konohona ninja's disembarked from their ship, the cloud nin staying behind to secure the boat. Sai, just stepping out of the water, turned back to watch Shikamaru and Naruto jump into the knee high water.

He watched for a moment as Shikamaru steadied Naruto after a slip in the shallows before turning away. Shizune and Kakashi were further up the beach speaking to Temari, who must have arrived earlier with the Kazekage. Sai tracked the beach, looking for anything that shouldn't be there.

Tsunade had requested he protect Naruto until the test, making sure that he'd be in top condition for whatever the Kage's would require him to do. And, while he didn't mind the orders, he thought they were rather redundant since Naruto had the Ninetails.

Still, Sai was mildly worried. He'd heard from several of their friends that Naruto wasn't doing as well as he let them all think. He was still sleep deprived and, if the slip in the rocks was anything to go by, physically weakened from the war. None of them were a hundred percent healthy yet.

The mental and emotional wounds kept them awake most nights while the physical wounds kept them from strenuous missions. He wasn't use to being kept home bound with nothing to do. More often than not, he'd had been given an observational mission while recovering. Now that Lord Danzo was gone, now that he answered to Kakashi, he found himself ordered to _relax_ and _take some time to heal_. It was most unusual.

Laughter jolted Sai out of his musings. Naruto drew in close and clapped him on the shoulder as he continued to chuckle at whatever Shikamaru had said.

"Ne, Sai, are you going to shove me off the side of the ship too?"

Shikamaru smirked, "I just said that if you woke me up the same way I'd throw you overboard."

Sai watched, with dark eyes, as the two bantered lightly. He was aware that Shikamaru was observing him for any discrepancies in his prosthetic. He was also aware, that Naruto was not as naive as most assumed. Whether it was his own senses or the ninetails warning him, Naruto knew when people were watching him.

**Flashback**

_Sai looked up into blue eyes in shock. "I don't know what you're talking about Naruto."_

"_Don't bother Sai. You've been watching me all day." Naruto rolled his eyes, "I'm fine and don't need a babysitter."_

"_We've just been hanging out as team 7. Of course I'd be looking at you. Sakura was looking at you as well."_

"_Sakura-chan wasn't watching my arm." Naruto's blue eyes glinted in anger and Sai felt a chill go down his spine. "Sakura-chan was 'hanging out'. You've been watching my arm all day. It's irritating!"_

_Sai's instincts screamed at him to defend "I'm just curious how it works." He leaned in close and risked poking it. "It's the same as white zetsu, right?"_

_Naruto grabbed Sai's hand away from his arm. "I don't know and I don't care." He jerked Sai forward so they were in each other's face. "Who ever told you to watch me-" Naruto's eyes flashed red a moment before returning to a hard blue, "tell them I'm fine. I'm tired of people watching my arm and telling everyone else what I did or didn't do."_

_Sai started to ask how he knew if people were watching his arm when Naruto suddenly released his hand. He stood straight with his head bowed slightly, blonde hair shadowing his face. But in that instant Sai had seen it. Naruto's eyes had dulled and a look of self loathing had crossed his face._

**End Flashback**

When he'd been told he was to go with Naruto and Shikamaru for the test he'd sought out the Nara and warned him that Naruto was aware of people watching his reactions. Shikamaru had reassured him that he wouldn't let Naruto catch him observing but that they should let the others know to back off.

Sai hung back slightly as he watched Naruto and Shikamaru make their way up to Temari and their hokage. For several moments they looked tense, then Naruto said something and suddenly they were laughing. Temari turned to fully look at Shikamaru, drawing his full attention in return. Shizune and Kakashi spoke quietly with Naruto before a voice drew their attention away. And in that split second instant, Sai saw that look again. Naruto's face scrunched up into self hate before smoothing away into his usual grin.

Naruto watched Gaara come out of the tree thicket with Konkuro. Temari had told them they were to wait on the beach for the other Kage's and their escorts to come. Something about wanting to only go over the the terrain observations once.

"Naruto." Gaara's quiet voice filtered through the sound of the sea and surf.

Naruto forced a grin, "Hey Gaara!" He looked over his shoulder and saw Sai watching him. Rolling his eyes he turned back to his friend. "Sorry about all the extras. I apparently need a babysitter or two."

Gaara said nothing as he silently stared into Naruto's blue eyes. Anger rose as Naruto felt himself start to sweat under the unblinking gaze. He was tired of everyone watching him. He was tired of everyone worrying over him. He was tired of everyone being careful of him. He was tired of others reactions to him. He was tired...

But he wouldn't say anything. He'd put the smile on his face and ignore the feelings, for now.

"Ne, Gaara," Naruto shoved in close and pretend whispered as loudly as he could, "do you think Shikamaru will ever get around to asking your sister out?" He leered over at the two, watching veins pop.

Gaara's eyes squinted slightly as he glanced to his sister for a moment before closing his eyes in resignation. He shrugged before turning his attention to Kakashi.

When he did so Naruto turned away. He let his gaze wander down the beach and let his mind wander inward. He vaguely heard Kurama speaking to Shukaku but didn't listen to the actual conversation. Rather, he just let himself listen to the sound of their voices as they verbally sparred with each other.

He'd been shocked that Gaara had not only wanted Shukaku housed in his body again but had helped convince the stubborn one tail that it was what he wanted too. Pleased with the result, Shukaku helped Gaara along the same lines as Kurama did for him. It just took a couple of days of of the tailed beasts telling their story before they all were housed in humans who promised to be friends rather than jailers.

Naruto believed the relationship between the tailed beasts and humans would improve...if for nothing else, because each host had been picked by the tailed beast, not by the Kage of that village. That of course didn't stop people from wanting to use that power and already there were reports of rebel nin attacking one of the new hosts.

'_Some things will never change.'_ Kurama's voice scoffed in his head while Shukaku cackled about idiot humans.

Naruto glanced back in time to see Gaara roll his eyes at Shukaku's mutterings before turning his pale eyes back to the ocean. Naruto took a few steps off to the side to avoid the bulk of the people that would be joining them shortly. He wasn't quite ready to deal with the other Kage's and their attendants.

He let his mind wander to when he managed to take Hinata to his mindscape to see Kurama. It had been a new jutsu that he'd found in the rubble of a town they'd been sent to aid. It was labeled as a Yamanaka training regime, but when he'd taken it to Ino, she had told him he could do what he wanted with it.

To both of their surprise it had worked...and to Kurama's surprise, and Naruto's delight, Hinata's eyes had taken a shine of interest and gratitude when she first saw the giant fox. There had been no fear in her eyes. That alone helped Naruto come to better terms with his budding feelings for the Hyuga girl.

Shouts drew his attention back to the present and the crunching of gravel and sand behind him had him tensing for questions.

"Naruto?"

Naruto let his shoulders relax as he turned to look at Sai. He stood slightly back and stared into Naruto's eyes for a long moment before he moved closer.

"Are we still friends?"

Naruto felt his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Why would you think we weren't?"

"I made you angry and the book I'm reading says tha-"

"Sai!" Naruto snapped. Sai's black eyes looked away for a moment as he was cut off. "Books aren't always full of information. Of course we're still friends! If I stopped being friends just because someone pissed me off I wouldn't be willing to hang out with Sasuke and Kiba." Naruto took a step closer and swung his left arm around Sai. "Just don't be staring at my arm...as a friend to another, it makes me really uncomfortable." Sai nodded solemnly and Naruto tightened his arm to put him in a head-lock. "Come on! It's time to get this test on the road."

***Author's note: I'm going to apologize for the extremely long wait. I had some serious health issues pop up this summer and I'm basically still recovering. Thank you to those of you who are reading this and staying interested in spite of the long gaps in updates**


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